Boat with 28 French tourists sinks in Ha Long Bay

The accident scene

Photo: VnExpress

TUOITRENEWS

A tour boat numbered QN 2070 with 28 French nationals, one Vietnamese tour guide and 12 sailors on board sank in Ha Long Bay, a tourist magnet in northern Vietnam, at 3:00 pm May 8.

The boat belongs to Hai Long Ltd. Company with headquarters located in Ha Long city.

Eyewitness told VnExpress newswire the boat began to sink at around 3:15 pm at a berth situated at the Sung Sot cave, 300 meters away from Ti Top Island where 12 tourists from 9 nations died around three months ago when their tour boat sank.

“The whole thing took between some minutes,” said one witness who stood 100 meters away from the accident scene “After 30 seconds, the boat began to slant and sank in an upright position.”

According to some, the boat got cracked after being hit by another boat. After the incident, many boats nearby immediately came to their rescue.

They added that by 5:00 pm the same day, there was no report of human casualties. The tourists were on the way to visit Sung Sot cave. The number of tourists on board has not been known yet.

Dang Huy Hau, deputy chairman of Quang Ninh People Committee, said waterway traffic police and officials from Ha Long Bay’s management board arrived at the scene to attempt a rescue.

But luckily there is no any report of human casualties this time, said Vu Chi Thuc, director of Quang Ninh police department.

Thu confirmed there are nine French nationals and several Vietnamese tourists on board the sunk boat and promised to salvage it soon.

“The main cause will be known only after the salvage,” Thuc said.

After being rescued, the tourists continued their trip on another boat owned by Hai Long Company to Sung Sot cave, Thuc added.

Earlier, twelve people, most of them foreign tourists, died February 17 night when their tour boat Truong Hai 06 suddenly sank while they were sleeping.

Ha Long Bay’s 1,600 islands and islets form a spectacular seascape of mostly uninhabited limestone pillars made famous by the 1992 French movie "Indochine."

The Bay was recognized by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site in 1994.

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